Undercurrent

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Neither musician is trying to dominate the conversation but just attempting to enhance each others playing in a quiet sensitive way. I have a nearly perfect copy except for smudges and I don't know how to clean it, or if that is possible. Whether it owes to the intimate pairing, he and Halls' brotherly chemistry, or the exquisite selection of program material, the results consistently come across as the equivalent of a private meditation, such is the level of introspective depth and quietly shaded interplay throughout. Evans' underlying playing is complete mastery and when he takes the lead Hall somehow makes the guitar sound like a bass and drums!

In tackling standards such as Rodgers and Hart’s “My Funny Valentine” and the Broadway classic “Darn That Dream,” as well as the Hall original “Romain,” the pair traverses complex harmonies with the astute elegance of a figure skater. The front cover image for Undercurrent is Toni Frissell's photograph "Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida". I can not fathom why a label which is considered to be an audiophile label would put out such a bad sounding record.I am not generally a fan of Bill Evans (wash your mouth out with soap and water) but have always admired Jim Hall.

The user is informed that they have the possibility of configuring their browser so that they are informed of the receipt of cookies, and may, if they wish, prevent them from being installed on their hard drive. There is more variety than expected on the fine set with some cookers, ballads, waltzes, and even some hints at classical music. They were part of a circle of musicians in New York in the early sixties, centred on George Russell, and including Jimmy Giuffre and Gil Evans, all united in a common aesthetic. Some reissues include four bonus tracks, including two alternate takes and previously unheard versions of "Stairway to the Stars" and "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You.Even though it only features two instruments for the whole duration, it never ever becomes one-dimensional or repetetive.

I was fortunate to find a VG copy of this early pressing which cleaned up beautifully, no crackles nor surface noise of any kind. I assume that there are shortcomings in the original recording, but I can't help but feel that more could be gotten out of this record. Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue is a hard act to follow, but when compelled to find something to succeed it in a late night listening session, there is one distinctly worthy contender, Undercurrent, featuring one of Kind of Blue’s pianists in a starring role beside a jazz guitar great. Evans’s left hand and Hall’s batterie effects frequently conjure up the impression of a phantom drummer at work.While Evans managed to sit down for a few one-off takes between LaFaro’s passing and these April-May 1962 dates, he largely remained on hiatus and abstained from recording. I'm glad to have it in my collection, but I will view it as a placeholder until a better pressing comes along. I simply can't stop playing this disc and have made a copy for the car and also put it on my iPad, sitting, walking or driving I'm thrilled by it and always hear something new. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

Evans is long gone and Hall much more recently but thankfully they made this iconic recording and wrapped it in a timeless vacuum that transcends all those years since its brilliant creation. The first of two meetings on record in a duo format with guitarist Jim Hall, the collaborations are often exquisite. In his November 26, 1962 review for DownBeat magazine jazz critic Pete Welding states: "This collaboration between Evans and Hall has resulted in some of the most beautiful, thoroughly ingratiating music it has been my pleasure to hear. The results of these sessions were quite the opposite, though, thanks to the tranquil and poetic use of space which gives Undercurrent its uniquely relaxed, and relaxing, quality. The execution of these tunes couldn't be more minimal - just Evans' piano and Hall's guitar vibing off each other.

The record is noise free, but does an impressive job of capturing musical nuance and delivering a deep emotional experience. The jacket of this album is not glossy and succeptible to smudges from picking it up with dirty hands, or ink transfer if stacked against other records. Bill Evans catapulted to the top of the jazz world in June 1961 after reeling off three straight masterpiece sessions at New York’s Village Vanguard with his trio. My favourite pieces at the moment are Evans' own composition "Romain", which is an extraordinarily melancholy piece of NY bedsit music. If not for an inspirational collaboration of tremendous creative outpouring, one wonders what fate may have befallen Evans.